Vietnamese Peanut Hoisin Dipping Sauce Recipe (Tuong Goi Cuon)

We brought summer rolls this weekend for a barbecue potluck. Traditionally, the rolls are served with a sauce made from liver but as a child, I always had an aversion to it. So I made tương gỏi cuốn (which literally translates to "sauce for salad rolls" in Vietnamese) with ingredients that would be appealing to a Western palate.

The condiment is a blend of peanut butter, hoisin sauce, ginger garlic paste, đậu (lentils), coconut water and a few ingredients that balance the sweet and sour taste. For more crunch, the summer rolls are first dipped in chopped peanuts.

Directions

In the mini-prep (or a blender), combine all the ingredients except the chopped peanuts. Pulse until smooth. You could add water to the desired thickness (I didn't).

Check seasoning; add soy sauce if necessary.

For additional crunch, sprinkle the top with coarsely ground peanuts or serve them on the side.

Voilà!

Tips

I spiced up the sauce with chile jam; you could also use chili garlic sauce (tướng ớt) instead or omit it entirely.

For this recipe, I used mung beans, also called green lentils (đậu xanh in Vietnamese), which give the sauce a thick consistency.

Green lentils (đậu xanh in Vietnamese).

Tamarind concentrate has a nice tart flavor. You can also use fresh tamarind pods if you like, but I find this to be labor intensive. I just prefer eating fresh tamarind as is and cooking with tamarind concentrate or tamarind powder.